Cloud Computing Fundamentals Quiz

Cloud Computing Introduction

• Cloud computing is an information technology (IT) paradigm enabling ubiquitous access to shared pools of configurable system resources and higher-level services.
• Cloud computing relies on sharing resources to achieve coherence and economies of scale, similar to a public utility.
• Cloud computing is essentially the delivery of computing services over the internet.
• Cloud providers are companies offering computing services, often billed by usage, similar to gas or electricity.

Course Logistics

• Required textbook: "Cloud Computing, Theory and Practice" by Dan Marinescu and Morgan Kaufmann.

Course Contents

• Introduction to cloud computing
• Virtualization I
• Virtualization II
• MapReduce batch processing
• MapReduce in heterogeneous environments
• Large-scale resource management
• Data center networking
• Cloud distributed storage
• Real-time data stream processing

Lecture Contents

• What is cloud computing?
• Early models of cloud computing
• Delivery models and services
• Ethical issues in cloud computing
• Cloud vulnerabilities
• Parallel computing
• Distributed systems

What is Cloud Computing?

• Cloud computing is an information technology paradigm enabling ubiquitous access to shared configurable system resources and higher-level services.
• Services are delivered over the internet and provisioning typically involves minimal management effort.
• Cloud computing is often compared to a public utility, using shared resources to achieve economies of scale and coherence.

Cloud Computing Models, Resources, Attributes

• Delivery Models: SaaS, PaaS, IaaS
• Deployment Models: Public cloud, Private cloud, Community cloud, Hybrid cloud
• Resources: Compute and storage servers, networks, services, applications
• Defining Attributes: Massive infrastructure, utility computing (pay-per-usage), accessible via internet, elasticity

Early Models of Cloud Computing

• Grid computing: Initiated by national labs in the early 1990s, primarily targeted at scientific computing, involves collecting computer resources to reach a common goal.
• Utility computing: Initiated in 2005-2006 by IT companies, is a service provisioning model where providers make resources available to customers as needed, charging for specific usage.

Cloud Computing Characteristics

• Cloud computing offers on-demand, scalable, and elastic computing (and storage) services.
• Cloud resources are metered, with users only charged for the services used.
• Shared resources are used for cost-effective resource multiplexing.
• Elastic computing allows for dynamic resource acquisition depending on workload demand.

Cloud Computing (cont'd)

• Data storage in the cloud is often location-independent, potentially increasing reliability and security while lowering communication costs.
• Service providers typically manage maintenance and security.
• Specialization and centralization benefit provider efficiency.

Cloud Computing Advantages

• Shared resources (CPU cycles, storage, network bandwidth).
• Multiplexing of resources leads to higher utilization, especially when peak demands are not synchronized.
• Resources are aggregated to support data-intensive applications.
• Data sharing facilitates collaborative activities (especially in geographically dispersed teams).
• Eliminates initial investment costs for private infrastructure, maintenance, and operation.
• Cost reduction is achieved by pay-as-you-go computing.
• Elasticity enables workload accommodation with fluctuating peak-to-average ratios.
• User convenience through familiar virtualization environments.

Types of Clouds

• Public cloud: Infrastructure made available to the public or a large industry group, owned by the cloud service provider.
• Private cloud: Infrastructure operated solely for an organization.
• Hybrid cloud: Composed of two or more clouds (public, private, community) using standardized technology for data and application portability.
• Community/Federated cloud: Shared infrastructure for organizations with common concerns.

Why Cloud Computing is Successful

• Cloud computing exploits advances in software, networking, storage, and processor technologies by companies providing cloud services.
• Economic benefits for enterprise computing, industrial organizations, financial institutions, and government.
• Effective management of infrastructure, with a homogeneous hardware and software resource set within a single administrative domain.
• Improved security, resource management, fault tolerance, and quality of service compared to heterogeneous environments.

Challenges for Cloud Computing

• Availability of service (what happens when the service provider fails to deliver?).
• Data confidentiality, auditability, and the security implications of cloud storage.
• Limited user mobility due to service diversity; customers locked into specific providers.
• Data transfer bottlenecks in applications requiring intensive data transfer.

More Challenges

• Performance unpredictability, especially concerning resource sharing.
• Resource management complexity in large data centers, including self-organization and self-management solutions.
• Security and confidentiality concerns, especially for sensitive data like healthcare applications.
• Ongoing effort required to address these cloud computing challenges

Cloud Delivery Models

• Software as a Service (SaaS): High-level service; applications are supplied by the service provider.
• Platform as a Service (PaaS): Applications are deployed using programming languages and tools provided by the vendor.
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Low-level service; users deploy and run arbitrary software on the provider's infrastructure.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

• User deploys and runs software on provider's resources (CPU, VMs, storage).
• User has control over deployed applications, potentially limited network control (eg., host firewalls).
• Services include server hosting, storage, computing hardware, operating systems, virtual instances, load balancing, internet access, bandwidth.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

• Cloud users deploy consumer-created, or acquired applications using vendors' supported programming languages and tools.
• User manages apps and their configurations, but not the underlying infrastructure (network, servers, operating systems, or storage).
• Not suitable for portable app deployments, or those using specific languages/hardware customizations for performance improvement.

Software as a Service (SaaS)

• Applications are provided by the service provider.
• Users don't manage underlying cloud infrastructure or individual application capabilities.
• Services include (e.g., workflow management, communications, CRM, desktop software, financial management, geo-spatial and search).
• Not suitable for real-time applications or applications where external hosting of data is not allowed.

Cloud Service Models

• Packaged Software: Users manage applications, data, runtime, middleware, and operating systems.
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Users manage applications, data, runtime, middleware, and operating systems.
• Platform as a Service (PaaS): Vendor manages the infrastructure; Users manage applications, data, runtime, and middleware.
• Software as a Service (SaaS): Vendor manages everything; Users only interact with applications

Cloud Activities

• Service management and provisioning (including virtualization, service provisioning, call centers, operations management, systems management, QoS management, billing, accounting, asset management, SLA management, technical support, and backups).
• Security management (including ID and authentication, certification and accreditation, intrusion prevention, intrusion detection, virus protection, cryptography, physical security, incident response, access control, audit trails, firewalls).
• Customer services (e.g., assistance, subscriptions, business intelligence, reporting, customer preferences, personalization).
• Integration services (e.g., data management, development).

Ethical Issues

• Paradigm shift impacting computing ethics due to control relinquishment to third-party services.
• Data storage across multiple sites managed by different organizations.
• Multiple services interoperate across the network.
• Unauthorised access, data corruption, and infrastructure/service failure are concerns.

De-perimeterisation

• Systems cross organizational boundaries.
• Determining responsibility in case of undesirable events is complex.
• Identity fraud and theft possibilities due to unauthorized access and dissemination of data through social networks.

Privacy Issues

• Cloud service providers collect vast amounts of sensitive data worldwide.
• Acceptance of cloud computing depends on privacy issues addressed by providers and located countries.
• Cultural differences impact privacy attitudes in a global system.

Cloud Vulnerabilities

• Clouds are vulnerable to malicious attacks and infrastructure failures, such as power outages.
• Attacks on Internet domain name servers can affect access to cloud services.
• Significant events like outages at Akamai, Google News/Gmail, and Amazon have occurred.

Parallel Computing

• Parallel computing involves executing many calculations simultaneously, dividing large problems into smaller ones.
• This aims to solve problems requiring resources not available on a single system and reduce solution time.

Parallel Computing (Amdahl's Law)

• Speedup (S) measures parallel efficiency.
• Amdahl's law provides an upper theoretical bound on the best achievable speedup achievable by a program when parallelized, focusing on segments that cannot be parallelized.

Distributed Systems

• A collection of autonomous computers connected by a network, facilitated by middleware, which coordinate activities and share system resources.
• Systems are integrated for the user, even with autonomous components and multiple control/failure points.
• Scalability and maintenance of availability are crucial aspects in distributed systems.

Summary

• What is cloud computing?
• Early models of cloud computing.
• Delivery models and services.
• Ethical issues in cloud computing.
• Cloud vulnerabilities.
• Parallel computing and distributed systems (brief).

Test your knowledge of cloud computing concepts and models with this quiz. Questions cover topics such as delivery models, ethical issues, and resource virtualization. Ideal for anyone looking to reinforce their understanding of cloud computing.